Lyon, France
This is what happens when you lose momentum on blogging your travels, very late posts!
So, from Bruges, I took a train to Lyon to stay with a work friend, Miss P's, parents - it's good to know French people! Paris was one thing, most people knew enough English to get by without any problems, but in the rest of France, English is not nearly as prolific. I had had a number of email exchanges with Marie the mother, her English was apparently not amazing, her husband Luc was fluent in English but wouldn't be home until late the evening I arrived. When I got out at the main train station, I followed her emailed instructions and navigated the bus system, managed to buy a ticket even though the driver and I spoke different languages, and even managed to get off at the right stop (though I did double check with a lass about my age who spoke enough English for us to communicate). I met Marie at the bus stop and we wandered back to her place which was very close by.
Now, I thought the lift at the Monmartre apartment was small, the one to Marie and Luc's place was even smaller! I was quite glad I had only brought a small backpack and carry bag, my huge pack would have taken up almost the entire lift alone! Marie and Luc have a beautiful apartment overlooking one of the rivers that flows through Lyon, and I got to sleep in Miss P's childhood room, complete with glow stars on the ceiling. Marie even had a range of tourist books on Lyon for me to use during my stay!
Now Marie claimed her English wasn't very good, however I think she was smashing. After dropping all my things, we went out for a walk around the area, she showed me the Opera House and other notable buildings around the city centre. We stopped by a Boulangerie and bought a baguette for dinner and some macroons for me. After a lovely wander around town, we headed home and Marie, who claims she's not much of a cook, made a beautiful dinner for us to share. After dinner and some wine, we generally relaxed and I surfed the interwebs making sure the world had managed without me for a bit. Luc arrived home from an international trip some time after 10pm, and after a brief chat and so on, we all hit the sack.
The next morning Luc drive us up to the Basillica at the top of one of the two mounts in Lyon. Inside, although being renovated, was stunning. The walls were covered in beautiful mosaics, some of which had gold tiles shining so brilliantly, it was hard to look at anything else but the gold. Luc had to work during the afternoon, so after another 'quick' lunch which I think might have been roast ducks breast from memory, and wine, Marie and I were left to our own devices again. Their apartment is at the bottom of one of the mounts and has a huge staircase up one side of the building from their street level to one of the parallel streets much higher up. We climbed the stairs which is no mean feat! And she took me to see the roman ruins which looked much like a small Galdiator's stadium. This is apparently where St Barbara was martyred. We also went through many of the buildings in the city, many have locks(?) which let people walk through a property from one street to the street or block behind. They were used throughout the war to allow ally's to escape or move through the city safely. We went and saw the great murals on a umber of the buildings, the murals look like real scenes, some depicts houses and shops, others depict staircases and outdoor scenes. They are brilliantly done and I really enjoyed seeing those.
After a huge day roaming the city and seeing some of the most interesting parts of Lyon, we headed home to meet Luc. As it was my last night, Luc and Marie decided to take me out to one of their favourite restaurants, Le Sud, a southern French cuisine specialty. Well, didn't I enjoy being the tourist?! I had garlic snails for entrée, even. Though I had tried them in China a few years ago, these were far bigger, like garden snail size, and you couldn't escape the fact that you were eating them. They we're however, quite nice. Not an every day food, but an occasional fancy. Luc had ordered Fois Gras as an entree so that I could have some of that too, and it was amazing. For main I had a beef steak with some delightful sauce, the beef just fell apart on my fork. We splurged and had dessert as well. Luc ordered a Baba Rhum so I could try it, essentially a sponges type cake that is covered in rum, and duly set alight I think. I couldn't help myself and ordered the creme brûlée, and it was huge! I'm used to delicate little bowls of it at home, this bowl was saucer size and relatively deep and it was the most divine creme brûlée I've ever tried and I almost never want to have another one again as it can't match that. Stuffed completely full, we caught the metro back home and might have had another glass of wine before bed.
The next morning, I packed up all my bits and pieces and popped out for the morning to visit the Lyon art gallery. It houses the largest French fine art collection outside of the Louvre and I really enjoyed having a good look around. I don't think they had an English audio guide so I generally enjoyed wandering around and making my own translations for everything as I went. After a couple of hours, it was time to head home for lunch, another Marie special with more delicious wine and a giant serve of fois gras just for me. Their cousins own and run a vineyard somewhere in rural France, they had at least a case of their family wine, which was really tasty, and they gave me a bottle to take away with me. After lunch, Luc ran me to the train station as Marie and Luc were off to their country house that afternoon. I had a really lovely time in Lyon and would love to go back sometime. Marie and Luc were a delight to meet and visit and I felt so welcome and comfortable in their home.
I got back to Paris and had a few more nights in the apartment before heading to the US. I went to the Musee d'Orsay and did some other sight seeing in general, but before I knew it, I was packed again (happily having left a number of things a the apartment as I was coming back) and headed out to the airport to fly to New York. All I can say is Charles De Gaulle Airport terminal 2 is a bit space age with crazy travelators through tubes, but has the most dull duty free :/
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